By MH Staff - Posted on 15th December 2014

1 MONDAY

Lasagne
It’s the combination of pasta and buttery bechamel that’s the killer with lasagne. But if you swap them out, you’ve got a dish fit for any training programme. “Halve the meat content of your usual recipe and swap in spinach and mushrooms,” says Chris Wheeler, chef at luxury hotel Stoke Park in the UK. “Instead of pasta layers, use thin slices of baby marrow; you want to cut them about a centimetre thick.” So there, the ultimate Italian comfort food made better for you than a Caesar salad.Kilojoules - 2293kJ,
Protein - 35g,
Carbs - 11g,
Fat - 18g,
Sugar - 9g

2 TUESDAY

Steak and Chips
It’s all in the breed, apparently. Fassone beef is a breed of cattle that delivers lean (but delicious) meat. Most importantly it has been proven to actually lower cholesterol. A rogue gene gives the Piedmontese cattle a condition known as “double-muscling”, delivering meat that has less cholesterol and fat than salmon or chicken while still packing the fatty acids of grass-fed beef. Not convinced? It still cooks like your marbled, juicy rib-eye and comes in around 2 000 kilojoules when served with baked sweet potato chips. Not travelling to Italy this week? Pick up a sirloin top side steak, it’s also lean and tasty.Kilojoules - 2 093kJ,
Protein - 44g,
Carbs - 18g,
Fat - 28g,
Sugar - 2g

3 WEDNESDAY

Macaroni Cheese
American versions of the ultimate steak side can pack an artery-stuffing 150 grams of cheese: the fat equivalent of two Big Macs, or a seriously intensive hour-long cardio session’s worth of graft. Skip the bad stuff and keep the flavour by blending the flesh of a roasted butternut with garlic, plain yoghurt and one handful of punchy mature cheddar. You keep the orange colour and rich cheesy flavour, but shave off 70 grams fat while you’re at it.Kilojoules - 2 585kJ,
Protein - 21g,
Carbs - 69g,
Fat - 30g,
Sugar - 15g

4 THURSDAY

Cottage Pie
It’s the carbs that kill your fitness in this winter favourite. A big slab of cheesy mashed spuds slathered onto fatty beef adds more than 1 876 kilojoules and gives a GI rating of 74, according to sports nutritionist Caroline Farrell. By blending sweet potato and cauliflower in place of the mash, you lower the GI rating to less than 45, meaning you avoid the blood-sugar crash. And by shaving roughly a third of the kilojoule count, you can justify going back for seconds or maybe thirds.Kilojoules - 2 172kJ,
Protein - 30g,
Carbs - 26g,
Fat - 27g,
Sugar - 7g

5 FRIDAY

Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Save 40 minutes and 29 grams of fat by using pre-rolled filo pastry in place of the usual shortcrust. “You can also cook the chicken without using oil if it’s straight out of the fridge,” says sports nutritionist Ian Marber. “Just add some water after 2 minutes cooking then let it simmer for 5 minutes before adding the mushrooms. Use low-fat crème fraîche to make the sauce; it gives a better consistency and you don’t need a butter-laden roux, saving another 8g fat.”Kilojoules - 2 293kJ,
Protein - 28g,
Carbs - 48g,
Fat - 24g,
Sugar - 1g

6 SATURDAY

Bangers and Mash
In winter, your brain decides no amount of mash is ever enough. You have two options, says nutritional scientist Jane Baker: “Use Yukon potatoes [or other waxy potatoes], which are naturally creamy so there’s no need for milk or butter – or mash carrot and turnip together. Even a double portion will have nowhere near the glycaemic load, fat content or carbs of normal mash.” Go with grilled 80% meat sausages and treat yourself to an extra couple.Kilojoules - 2 293kJ,
Protein - 20g,
Carbs - 40g,
Fat - 31g,
Sugar - 0g

7 SUNDAY

Chicken Curry
Indian restaurants cook curry in ghee (clarified butter), one portion of which has (a crazy) 50 grams of saturated fat. Make a healthy masala that tastes just as good using one bit of prep: leave sliced chicken in a ziploc bag with yoghurt and lemon juice overnight. Then, when cooking, fry it in masala paste, adding low-fat coconut milk. Finally, switch rice for cauliflower: “Pulse six florets in a processor for 10 seconds,” says nutritionist Christine Bailey. It comes out like rice but with no carby glycaemic load.Kilojoules - 2 135kJ,
Protein - 19g,
Carbs - 12g,
Fat - 12g,
Sugar - 22g